Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor-PerpetualMreow, Proofreader-Spring Flower
Bei Quan laughed.
The fearful look in Ah Song's eyes seemed to make him very happy.
Bei Quan smiled as he finished drawing his talisman.
Ah Song felt even more shocked in his heart.
Not only was Bei Quan skilled in martial arts, but unlike Wei Fuyuan or Jiang Nan'an who only excelled in external techniques, he also had a deep understanding of talismans and formations. It was evident to anyone, even an outsider, how exquisite the things Bei Quan drew
were.
This was a double-layered nested talisman that combined the effects of both "imprisonment" and "sealing", and it could also enhance the formation on the tree trunk, creating a three-fold stacking effect. Describing it as "impregnable" wouldn't be an exaggeration. This talisman didn't have any attacking power, but it could trap people in place.
Whether it was him, Ran Qu, Hui Gui, or even Bei Quan himself, nobody could escape unless an external force broke down this formation.
--Could it be that Bei Quan had another trick up his sleeve?!
At the thought of this, Ah Song's face turned even paler.
Yes, he must have made other arrangements.
And these arrangements would without a doubt lead to a devastating defeat for himself, with no way out.
At that moment, Bei Quan completed the final stroke, and the talisman was formed.
He activated the talisman, and a surge of red light emerged, following the patterns, it bloomed like a magnificent red lotus, enveloping the entire giant tree from top to bottom.
Ah Song suddenly felt as if a thousand-pound boulder was pressing down on him.
His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground. At that moment, he couldn't even lift his head.
The glowing orbs in the air were also trapped by the formation.
They were Ran Qu's soul and the malevolent spirit that fed on Ran Qu's negative emotions.
A heavy rumbling sound echoed in the air.
It seemed like someone was roaring and struggling.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIn the next second, the entire tower shook. The seemingly indestructible white marble walls crumbled like fragile tofu, turning into dust and disappearing into the endless darkness.
This was the self-destructive method used by Ran Qu and the malevolent spirit to break free from Bei Quan's formation.
They didn't even hesitate to destroy the painstakingly constructed dream space.
"It's useless," Bei Quan said as he sat on a tree branch across from the immobilized Ah Song.
He was quite tired from activating two large formations consecutively.
But to maintain his image of a pretentious expert, Bei Quan still smiled nonchalantly and said, "Unless there is external intervention, even the creators themselves won't be able to break my formation from the inside."
As he spoke, he reached out a hand and used his index finger to lift Ah Song's, or rather Luo Yun's chin, and smiled, saying, "Now, Ah Song, senior brother, since we have plenty of time, letclear up your confusion, and let you know where you went wrong." He met Ah Song's fierce gaze and smiled lightly.
"Where should I begin?"
Bei Quan thought for a moment and leisurely twirled the Qingguang Vientiane Brush in his hand.
"Let's start with my life-bound magical weapon," he said.
Ah Song's lips trembled.
He wanted to speak, but couldn't find his voice.
"The formation that Ran Qu drew before his death, you taught him that, right?"
Bei Quan said with a smile.
"Talismans and formations are my areas of expertise. I can't say I've read every book on the subject in the Zhuling Secret Realm, but I haven't read fewer than you, senior brother."
Even though Bei Quan lost consciousness almost as soon as he opened Ran Qu's door, his familiarity with talismans was enough for a quick glimpse.
"I've had suspicions for a while that someone was intentionally guiding Ran Qu on how to control his dreams."
Bei Quan said, "With the knowledge that an ordinary person like him could access, there shouldn't have been such rapid and precise progress in less than a year."
He pinched Luo Yun's fair and delicate face. "Letguess, just like how you noticed Xu Lei, you discovered Ran Qu online, right?"
It wasn't hard to guess.
Since Ah Song was looking for individuals with the special abilities of the Witch Clan, he would search for clues in places where these people gathered.
In today's world, there was no faster and more convenient place for information dissemination than the Internet.
Xu Lei once confided on a forum about her "premonition dreams," and Ran Qu had conducted numerous experiments with online friends to test his control over dreams.
Obviously, Ah Song found them through the internet.
"Ran Qu's post about the 'Two-Pole Gate' and the possession of the Hui gui on his body, are all your masterpieces, right?
"Whether it was teaching him how to recruit followers with the 'Two-Pole Gate,' or allowing the Hui Gui to possess him, it was all to rapidly enhance his abilities and fully unleash his potential as a member of the Witch Clan, isn't it?" Bei Quan continued, his lips curling into a contemptuous smile.
"Of course, and you pressing him to use the sacrificial technique was for the sreason," Bei Quan shook his head.
"Unfortunately, you've underestimated Ran Qu's potential and ended up trapping yourself as well."
Bei Quan continued, "After all, you didn't expect that you would join us, completely unprepared and be pulled into this dream world while still awake."
Ah Song had originally planned to wait for Ran Qu's death and then effortlessly take away his soul.
For this, he specifically chose a hiding place close enough to where Ran Qu committed suicide, a case of 'the pavilion closest to the water enjoys moonlight.'
T/N-(idiom); to benefit from intimacy with an influential person
Unfortunately, despite Ah Song's careful calculations, he had never expected that this final step would end up trapping him.
Bei Quan nodded solemnly and said, "Having a non-original body is quite inconvenient, isn't it?"
Bei Quan continued, "On that point, I can relate."
From what he knew, starting from the escape from the Zhuling Secret Realm, in less than two years, Ah Song had used the technique of body possession to kill four people and had switched bodies four times. But this approach was very unwise.
Frequently changing bodies not only destabilized the soul, but it also damaged one's cultivation.
With one wrong move, it wouldn't be surprising to end up dead and scattered in body and soul.
"The man we encountered at the abandoned construction site with Chi Xiao, that was you, Senior Ah Song, right?"
Bei Quan was referring to the incident where the spiritual artifact, Chi Xiao, went to meet him and was surrounded and attacked by a group of wolf-like servants.
Bei Quan continued, "Before this, I hadn't heard that you liked to use servants... Now I realize it's because your cultivation has been depleted, so you can only resort to creating servants to do your bidding, right?"
Bei Quan smiled and hit Ah Song right in the heart.
"What a pity, your servants can't enter the dream realm. Here, you're no different from an ordinary person, now being suppressed by me."
Although Bei Quan said it lightly, in Ran Qu's dream space, his abilities were also greatly constrained.
At first, he couldn't even summon his spiritual artifact. Luckily, he cultivated the path of talismans.
Bei Quan rolled up his left sleeve in front of Ah Song.
On his forearm, there were densely written talismans.
In a hurry, Ah Song only got a rough look and immediately trembled all over, almost spitting blood.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThis was another multi-layered nested talisman.
However, the effect of this talisman was different from the previous two. It wasn't for imprisonment or sealing, but to break the barriers of this dream realm and establish a connection with a natal magic weapon - that's why Bei Quan can now wield the Qingguang Vientiane Brush.
"Feeling angry? Well, being angry is the right response," Bei Quan chuckled.
"Unfortunately, no matter how angry you get, you can't learn my technique."
Ah Song clenched his back teeth, making a grinding sound.
Indeed, as Bei Quan said, if they were outside, with several powerful servants by his side, Bei Quan wouldn't have an easy time, and he wouldn't be as helpless as he is now - at the very least, even if he couldn't win, he would be able to escape. --Of all places, it had to be here!
--And to make matters worse, he brought this upon himself!
Ah Song's frustrated expression brought great delight to Bei Quan, who "kindly" continued to explain further.
"And I'm sure you're curious about how I saw through your identity, right?"
Bei Quan raised a finger and gently shook it in front of Ah Song.
Upon hearing this, Ah Song couldn't help but glare at Bei Quan with hatred.
"Senior brother, your acting skills are quite impressive. If I hadn't suspected that you were infiltrating our group, I might have truly overlooked your flaws."
Bei Quan burst into laughter and said, "I knew 'Luo Yun' was 'Ah Song' because when we were attacked by those winged lizards, you went OOC."
He learned that term yesterday while browsing Douyin on Wei Fuyuan's phone and decided to use it. "We weren't close before, and you probably only heard that I'm skilled in talismans, but you must've been curious about the extent of my skills, right?"
Ah Song's expression changed.
He finally realized where his problem lay.
Yes, he was indeed curious about Bei Quan's true abilities.
After all, Bei Quan was the person sent by the Zhuling Secret Realm to deal with Hui Guis, and he was the most likely person to obstruct his plans.
Anyone would want to understand their opponent's strength.
At that time, to deal with those winged lizards, Bei Quan drew a rather complex talisman. And he, during the moment when Bei Quan activated the spell, couldn't help but stare at Bei Quan's movements for a few short seconds...
"What happened to your 'sister' at that time?"
It seems Bei Quan understood Ah Song's thoughts and continued, "That's right, Luo Lan, your biological sister, was being attacked by a lizard and got knocked down."
"Ah Song, besides yourself, have you never loved anyone else?"
Bei Quan smiled and said, "So even if you try to play the role of a good brother, you still revealed your flaws at crucial moments."
Saying that, Bei Quan gently touched Luo Yun's face.
"If you've paid attention to Xiaowei's reactions, you would've noticed that when he truly cares about someone, his gaze only focuses on that person when they're in danger."